Scenario
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Your school's principal has agreed to let your class raise a class pet. Your class voted to get fish and help take care of them. Have you ever had fish or another pet of your own? It is a big responsibility to own a dog, cat, or fish. We may not have to take our fish for a walk like we would a dog, but we do have other responsibilities when caring for underwater creatures. You should treat your pet the way you'd treat a person. Don't forget, animals are living creatures too. Just like people have needs to survive, animals have needs to survive also. Before you were born and your mom took you home from the hospital, she had clothes, diapers, milk, and a place ready for you to sleep. Before bringing any pet home with you, it is important to think about how you can provide the best possible living environment for them. Can you think of the things we will need to make a home for our fish?
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Task
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1. Our class will take a trip to an outdoor pond habitat and observe the living and non-living things in the pond. We will record and classify our findings by living things or non-living things. 2. Then you will use your observations at the pond, books about aquatic life, and online resources to discover what living and non-living things will be needed in our class aquarium to make sure our fish will survive in their new home. 3. Our final product will be to make a picture model of our new classroom aquarium in Kid Pix and to label and distinguish the living and non-living things needed for survival. 4. Everyone will share his/her model with the class and we will vote for the aquarium model to use when setting up and designing the real habitat in our classroom! 5. Once we've chosen the best model and researched the tasks involved in caring for our aquarium, we will be ready to set up the habitat in our room. 6. For two weeks, we will record the conditions inside and outside of the aquarium, observe our new pet in his habitat, and write about the growth and changes we see in our science log. 7. We will be responsible for working together to take excellent care of our fish (and any other animals we may buy for our aquarium) and the aquatic plants by keeping a happy, healthy, and safe living environment for them! |
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Product
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You are responsible for completing the following:
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Assessment
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Create a picture of an aquarium in Kid Pix. Include everything we will need for our classroom aquarium in your drawing. Use the tools to label the living and non-living things that make up your model aquarium. Be creative! You can use the Aquarium Model Checklist to help you with your drawing. Aquarium Model Checklist
Click on the fish bowl to find the checklist. |
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Questions
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Think about:
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Gather and Sort
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*Read and enjoy these wonderful books.
*Look at this book written by first graders to find animals and plants that live underwater! You could find all of the animals in this book at The Baltimore Aquarium! Our Journey to the Aquarium (by first graders) *Check out these sites to learn more. |
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Organize |
Use what you have learned about living and non-living things found in ponds, oceans, and other aquatic habitats to create a model aquarium. Think of what any living thing needs to survive in their environment. Organize your prior knowledge and new learning to write at least one complete sentence describing your aquarium model. Explain your reasoning for including the living and non-living things that are included in your picture. Review the checklist for your aquarium model. Make sure that you have completed all the steps. |
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Conclude |
Share
Time:
Reflection: Extension: For two weeks, observe your new pet in his new habitat. Together, we will measure and observe the conditions, behaviors, and changes of the living and non-living things in our aquarium habitat and record them in our science log. |
Down
By the Sea (by Joelene Griffith)
